Bright Plume Over Bucks & Hunterdon Counties Traced To Rocket Launch

The rocket as seen Tuesday evening from Bucks County.
Credit: Submitted

A rocket launched from South America produced an eye-catching display in the evening sky Tuesday as the full moon began to show itself.

The dramatic exhaust plume was spotted over Bucks County around 6 p.m.

According to the European Space Agency, the source was its heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket.

The rocket had launched from the European Space Agency’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, which sits 2,500 miles away from the area.

Managed by the French firm Arianespace, the 200-foot-tall rocket carried weather-tracking equipment into space.

The agency stated that the equipment’s data will be used to improve weather radar imaging during both the day and night.

The European Space Agency stated that the data from the rocket’s payload will help with weather tracking, locating ships, and managing the environment.

The increasing frequency of rocket sightings above the region is a result of more objects being launched into space by commercial space companies, researchers, and governments.

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